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Paymints.io is now integrated into First American Title’s PRISM platform, eliminating the need for paper checks by allowing title and real estate agents to request and receive electronic disbursement of earnest money and cash-to-close funds within the platform.
Perla Aparicio
“In addition to helping to prevent wire fraud, the use of electronic disbursement shaves time and cost from the settlement process, which benefits borrowers, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, and title and settlement professionals,” said paymints.io executive Perla Aparicio in a statement.
First American Title Insurance Company announced the launch of the PRISM platform for title agents in August.
The PRISM platform lets lenders and real estate agents get quotes for title insurance and settlement fees or order titles without calling their title agents. The platform also gives real estate agents access to co-branded or white-labeled seller net sheets, buyer estimates, refinance quotes, marketing materials and property reports.
PRISM is also integrated with DataTree, a database of property and homeowner information; and Agent Print Pro, which provides customizable marketing materials.
Kevin Wall
“The integration of our innovative PRISM platform with paymints.io reflects our commitment to provide a more convenient real estate transaction experience for our title agents and the lenders, real estate agents, buyers and sellers they serve,” said Kevin Wall, president of First American Title’s Agent and Lender Group, in a statement.
Cyber attacks targeting title and settlement companies are on the rise, according to a recent survey by the American Land Title Association. The survey of 569 title agents, nationwide, found that 86 percent said the volume of cyber attacks either increased or remained the same last year and that 46 percent reported their employees received at least one email attempting to change wire or payoff instructions monthly.
Discount brokerage REX Real Estate was hit with a lawsuit in July after a homebuyer claimed to have lost more than $140,000 to a scammer impersonating REX subsidiary Iron Crest National Title Agency.
Technology providers focused on solving the problem include CertifID, Earnnest, TrustFunds, Payload and DepositLink, whose clients include Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21 Real Estate, Compass, ERA, Home Services of America, HomeSmart, Keller Williams, RE/MAX and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Paymints.io says it stands out from competitors by not only collecting earnest money deposits and cash for closing, but for a vendor marketplace featuring real estate agents, mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys and other service providers who may be due funds or payments at closing. As a “white-label” software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, users can import their own branding and colors into paymints.io.
Disbursements to clients and vendors can be initiated within 60 seconds, eliminating the process of printing and mailing paper checks or the need for multiple phone calls to confirm routing and wiring instructions. Third parties like Plaid and Dwolla are employed to verify users’ identities using several data points before transferring funds, the company says.
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